Amria Farnsworth Honored by the Utah Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Amria Farnsworth (third from right) with fruit harvested by the USU Gleaning Team (aka Cache Community Gleaning).

Amria Farnsworth Honored

by the Utah Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

By Madison Leak

Amria Farnsworth, a recent graduate of USU’s Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences (NDFS), was named the state’s 2021 Outstanding Dietetics Student by the Utah Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (UAND).

Farnsworth graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and a minor in hunger security studies. She also served as co-director of the USU Gleaning Team (now known as Cache Community Gleaning), a volunteer organization whose members gather excess fruits and vegetables from local growers, including older Cache Valley residents who are no longer able to harvest the fruit in their yards. Growers and volunteers keep some of the produce, and the majority is distributed to community members in need through local food pantries.

Mateja Savoie Roskos, assistant professor of community nutrition, was impressed by Farnsworth’s efforts.

“Amria truly is the epitome of an active and engaged citizen,” said Savoie Roskos. “Her gleaning project has already demonstrated significant success over the short period of time it has been implemented.”

In 2019, Farnsworth’s team rescued nearly 15,500 pounds of produce from local trees and properties. The USU Gleaning Team prevented that produce from ending up in a landfill and instead distributed it to food-insecure students via the Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC) on USU’s campus.

“Considering the SNAC pantry relies on donations and oftentimes has limited fresh produce available for patrons, this is a very significant contribution to improve campus food security, not to mention the environmental impact of reducing food waste,” Savoie Roskos said. “Speaking from my own experience with food gleaning programs, I am blown away by the speed at which Amria and her team developed and expanded this program. It clearly demonstrates her leadership, networking, and communication abilities.”

Farnsworth was shocked to be named the state’s outstanding dietetics student.

“One of my greatest desires is to combine my knowledge of nutrition and public health to work toward creating communities where food access and food choice is equitable for all,” said Farnsworth. “For a statewide organization like UAND to notice and commend my efforts is pretty wonderful. It is incredibly humbling to have my efforts recognized, especially by mentors who I greatly admire and respect.”

Farnsworth currently works in a research position for Create Better Health Utah, a statewide program of USU Extension, and intends to become a registered dietitian. After taking the certification exam, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in public health. When Farnsworth first enrolled at USU, it was for a degree in elementary education. It took time for her to realize that she wanted to change fields.

“Naturally, I turned to the all-knowing internet and took about 100 Buzzfeed quizzes,” Farnsworth said. “It was silly, I know, but it was the gentle push I needed and eventually led me to dietetics. Coming to USU was the perfect decision. I’ve absolutely cherished my experience here academically and socially with the connections I’ve made. I’m proud to be an Aggie alum!” �

Visit the Create Better Health Utah website at extension.usu.edu/CreateBetterHealth for healthy recipes that adults and children can prepare and healthy lifestyle strategies. Utah residents can also enroll in a free online course that covers menu planning and shopping, food preparation, heathy individual and family lifestyles, and more.